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No Bake Peanut Butter Pie

Ah, peanut butter.
An American classic. If you’re an American reading this post, you probably know
and love peanut butter. Peanut butter is like a best friend you grew up with,
something you’ve eaten ever since you were little. Peanut butter on a bagel for
breakfast, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in your lunchbox at school,
peanut butter on celery sticks for snack (yep, you heard right Italians – we put
peanut butter on vegetables). Every spring you probably waited impatiently for
the arrival of your order of Girl Scout peanut butter Tagalong cookies. And if
you grew up in my family, you also ate peanut butter and banana sandwiches (me)
peanut butter and bacon sandwiches (my brother) and peanut butter and
marshmallow fluff sandwiches (my sister). Yes, peanut butter is a big deal in
the U.S.

In Italy however it
is mostly unknown and underappreciated. Most Italians I know have never tried
peanut butter, and those who have are on the fence about it. “E’ troppo
pesante!” (It’s too heavy!) “E’ buono…ma
non riesco a mangiarne tanto!” (It’s good, but I can’t eat very much of it!) “Meglio la nutella!” (Nutella
is better!) etc. Indeed, Italians tend to prefer Nutella, the distant cousin of
peanut butter, made from chocolate and hazelnuts (remember this cake?)

This recipe for
peanut butter pie is one that I hope will be added to the vast list of
ways-to-eat-peanut butter for our American readers, and a good recipe for
Italians who want to give peanut butter a try. This is a rich dessert made a
bit lighter by its fluffy texture. The flavor of the peanut butter is
complimented by a chocolate crumb crust, which, as all Americans know, is
peanut butter’s best friend. Best of all, this pie requires no baking --just blend
together the filling ingredients, pour them in to the crust, and put the whole
thing in the fridge. The hardest part about making this pie is waiting for the
filling to set! Try this recipe, you’ll be happy you did!

NO BAKE PEANUT BUTTER PIE

Ingredients:

Crust:

About 25 chocolate wafer

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

1 cup creamy peanut butter

One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1 ¼ cup whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Crush the cookies until they're fine crumbs.
Pour the melted butter over the top and stir with a fork to combine. Press into
a pie pan and bake until set, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to
cool completely.

Beat the peanut butter with the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered
sugar and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat the vanilla and whipping
cream until it forms peaks. Fold into peanut butter/sugar mixture. Pour the
filling into the crust, evening out the top with a knife or spatula. Top with
chocolate chips if you want. Chill for at least an hour before serving. Serves
10.